Dental Implants
By Dr. Rudy Wassenaar

Dental Implants

Single-Tooth Anterior Implant

Matching to natural position of other teeth

A 30-year-old man who leads a very active lifestyle with mountain biking, wild water canoeing, winter sports and anything adventurous. Unfortunately, he had an accident causing him to lose his front tooth. We removed the tooth, set it aside and did a bone graft procedure to build up the bone for future implant placement. We then bonded this tooth back in and glued it to the adjacent teeth at the end of the procedure . So he walked out with the same tooth we extracted. After a healing period of about 3 months, we placed the implant and three months later we placed a crown. Since he wanted an appearance that was natural, not “perfect” crown at the same slant his tooth was before.

Multiple Teeth Front Implants

Teeth missing since birth

This young lady was unfortunate enough to never had these two front teeth form. As a result, there was a major disfigurement in her smile. She went through 2 years of orthodontic treatment to distribute and to create space on both sides for dental implant placement. Since there were never any teeth here before, there also was no bone to support the implants. We then did a bone graft procedure on both sides and added bone we took from the lower jaw. The implants and bone graft were a total success in when we placed them in 2006 and are still doing amazing to this day.

Dental Implant Bridge

Teeth Failed after Accident

This patient had an accident years ago and never had the opportunity to take care of it. These teeth were failing now and had to be removed. He dreaded the prospect having to deal with a denture of any kind and preferred something fixed. Replacing three missing teeth would leave us with a very long span which would need three teeth support on each side. The lifespan of long bridges is compromised compared to a bridge replacing only one tooth. Essentially it would be a six tooth solution to a three tooth problem which probably would develop more problems leading to more tooth loss in the future. It was explained to him that he could have a fixed solution without traumatizing 6 other healthy teeth in the process. Our solution was 2 implants with a bridge part on either side of the implants to give him the support he needed without compromising other teeth.

Dental Implants At 75

Graham Kelsey’s Story

“ As you get older, you want less trouble in your life “

Graham’s Testimonial

“Over the past eight years you have replaced four of my teeth with implants. For me, the results have been excellent. I wish implant technology had been available thirty or forty years ago. Now that it is, I can unhesitatingly recommend it, even for one who is closer to eighty than seventy.“